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Qualitative
Mothers’ decisions about MMR vaccination were framed by their children’s vulnerabilities and wider social trends

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebn.9.1.27

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    Poltorak M, Leach M, Fairhead J, et al. ‘MMR talk’ and vaccination choices: an ethnographic study in Brighton. Soc Sci Med 2005;61:709–19.OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science

    Q How do mothers think and decide about measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination for their infants?

    DESIGN

    Ethnography.

    SETTING

    2 areas in Brighton and Hove, UK.

    PARTICIPANTS

    23 mothers who had children <3 years of age and attended any of 5 different parent-toddler groups; 8 general practitioners (GPs) and 3 practice nurses; and 6 health visitors.

    METHODS

    Short informal group discussions and participant observation included 4–7 mothers attending 3 of the parent-toddler groups on a given day. 48 conversations were recorded, and 23 were developed into indepth narrative interviews lasting 1–2 hours. Interviews were transcribed and then summarised into 23 parent profiles with associated key themes and vaccination biographies. Themes were expanded and grouped in a working paper that was modified in consultation with a stakeholder advisory panel. GPs, nurses, and health visitors were interviewed together; 3 health visitors were also work-shadowed.

    MAIN FINDINGS

    Mothers’ narratives about MMR vaccination addressed personal histories, birth events, becoming a mother with other mothers, engaging with health professionals and government, understandings of …

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    Footnotes

    • For correspondence: Dr M Leach, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. m.leach{at}ids.ac.uk

    • Source of funding: Economic and Social Research Council Science in Society Research Programme.